Sunday at 2 p.m., USAP begins its European campaign with a trip to Amsterdam (Netherlands) to face the South African team Toyota Cheetahs. But with what ambitions?
The 2024-2025 European Cup starts this weekend. A fourth consecutive edition for the USAP which will face an unprecedented opponent on this first day of competition. Sunday at 2 p.m., the blood and gold travel to Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, to face a… South African team: the Toyota Cheetahs. An atypical fixture which will be played at the NRCA Stadium, the home stadium of the Dutch national team, which has a capacity of 5,000 seats. An old-fashioned stadium which will welcome many Dutch, South African, but also Catalan supporters, who should number more than a hundred to make the trip to Amsterdam.
Behind, the USAP will host the Irish from Connacht (Sunday, December 15 at 2 p.m.) and the Welsh from Cardiff (Saturday, January 11 at 2 p.m.), before traveling to Italy to challenge the Zebre from Parma (Sunday, January 19 at 4 p.m. h 15). But what are Perpignan’s real ambitions in this Challenge Cup?
11 matches without a victory, almost 12 years without away success
It is hard to write that the USAP will present itself with real ambitions in this competition. It's clear that she would have liked to be able to play it, especially since getting a qualification is not that hard. In the current formula, where four of the six teams in the group qualify, it is enough to win “only” two matches to advance to the round of 16. Problem: since its rise, the blood and gold have not succeeded. They have not won in 11 Challenge Cup matches. The last time, it was at Aimé-Giral, against the Newport Dragons (22-16), thanks in particular to two tries from Tom Ecochard and Baptiste Plana.
Since then, no victory. Even against affordable opponents like the Emirates Lions or Newcastle last season. Worse, USAP has not won away from home in the European Cup since January 12, 2013 and a trip to Guernica (15-50 victory). At the time, Jérôme Schuster, Lifeimi Mafi and Armand Batlle scored a double. Since then, the various USAP teams – often made up of young people – have never achieved the feat of winning outside of France.
This season, that can be a goal. But with almost half of the professional squad unavailable, it will be hard to fight in this European Cup, without losing energy or losing players for the important deadlines of the Top 14. To date, the left pillars Giorgi Beria and Bruce Devaux, right prop Akato Fakatika, second lines Marvin Orie and Posolo Tuilagi, third lines Alan Brazo, Patrick Sobela and Jacobus van Tonder, fly-halfs Tommaso Allan and Jake McIntyre, as well as wingers Lucas Dubois and Théo Forner are unavailable. Hooker Ignacio Ruiz and number 8 Joaquín Oviedo are on leave, while second row Adrien Warion, third row Lucas Bachelier and center Eneriko Buliruarua are doubtful. Conversely, Fijian center Apisai Naqalevu has served his five match suspension and is applying for the match in Amsterdam on Sunday.
This European Cup will, in any case, serve more to give playing time to those who lack it. We think of hookers Victor Montgaillard and Vakhtang Jintcharadze, right prop Nemo Roelofse, second row Mathieu Tanguy, third rows Noé Della Schiava and Max Hicks, scrum halves Sadek Deghmache and James Hall, center Job Poulet, winger Jefferson-Lee Joseph, as well as a few young people. Some executives, who have worked hard in recent weeks, will be cooled down to then return to form for the next three Top 14 matches in Paris and Lyon, and against La Rochelle. Because that's the priority today… The Challenge Cup is just a bonus.
